England National Club Touch Rugby Finals 2013

Play started at 9:50 at the National Touch Series (NTS) and Challenge Touch Series (CTS) Finals 2013, but the Elite 8 kicked proceedings off at 10:25 on Pitch 1. The Elite 8 are made up of the top half of the NTS league, the Super 8 holding the rest of the teams.

The tournament has four pools that play over four pitches, but we would be focusing on pitches 1 and 2 that were holding the Elite 8 matches as well as all the finals of the day’s competition.

A teams standing in the league is determined by how well you place in events such as this. The NTS had four tournaments in Nottingham, London Cambridge and Manchester while the CTS played in Reading, Newcastle, Widnes and Canterbury. Squads gathered from England, Scotland and Wales to take part in the finals.

Elite 8sPitch 1

London Galaxy 6 – 2 Phoenix TouchTouted as one of the teams to watch, London Galaxy opened their account with a strong showing against the Welsh side Phoenix Touch.

Tumeke Sports 6 – 1 Manchester ChargersTumeke had great team composition and proved a handful for Manchester.

London Galaxy 4 – 6 Bareback RidersThe London teams were the ones to beat, the Bareback Riders knew that and took the game to London Galaxy. Trading scores in a fairly well matched game these two teams were great to watch.

Tumeke Sports 5 – 6 Hot Custard
This was an energetic game with Hot Custard making use of some clever two man play to get scores and make the difference.

London Galaxy 7 – 1 Durka TouchThe Galaxy were finding there stride in the competition, which was unfortunate timing for Durka Touch.

Tumeke Sports 3 – 6 Cambridge HornetsCambridge were able to pull of the upset against Tumeke, perhaps this championship is more wide open than expected.

Pitch 2Bareback Riders 8 – 2 Durka TouchThis was Bareback Riders first game of the day, and they set down a marker for the other teams. With a potent offensive capability the Riders looked a good bet to do well.

Hot Custard 5 – 3 Cambridge HornetsHot Custard started the tournament well putting it on Cambridge to capture the win.

Durka Touch 3 – 5 Phoenix TouchPhoenix Touch did their part to maintain Welsh pride picking up the win against Durka.

Cambridge Hornets 9 – 7 Manchester ChargersAlthough Manchester gave their all, Cambridge gave more with many players going in for a score.

Everyone was hoping the weather forecast wasn’t going to be accurate. Heavy rain was predicted for the late afternoon which was just the time the finals were due to kick off. The knock out games started in fine conditions, but eventually that began to change.CTS Cup Semi-final 1

Thames Valley 4 – 7 Wigan Touch WarriorsWigan team had a good mixture of young development talent as well as more experienced player. The outcome was a win for the well balanced side.

CTS Cup Semi-final 2

Canterbury Cougars 5 – 4 CSSC WookiesThese two teams enjoyed their appearance on pitch 1 & 2 during the finals. Both teams played hard in an effort to make the most of the opportunity to progress.

CTS Plate Semi-final 1
Portsmouth Destroyers 4 – 3 Galaxy II

CTS Plate Semi-final 2
Percy Park Pirates 3 – 2 Nottingham Hoods

Elite 8 Plate Semi-final 1
Phoenix Touch 6 – 3 Manchester Chargers

Elite 8 Plate Semi-final 2
Tumeke Sports 3 – 2 Durka Touch

Super 8 Plate Semi-final 1
Oxford Touch 9 – 6 Custard Jagers

Super 8 Plate Semi-final 2
London Galaxy II 4 – 5 Nottingham Hoods

Elite 8 Cup Semi-final 1
Bareback Riders 10 – 2 Cambridge Hornets

Elite 8 Cup Semi-final 2
Hot Custard 3 – 4 London Galaxy

Super 8 Cup Semi-final 1
Bristol Fijians 8 – 3 Wigan Touch Warriors

Super 8 Cup Semi-final 2
London Scorpions 4 – 0 Thames Valley

CTS Cup Final
Wigan Touch Warriors 1 – 2 Canterbury Cougars

Super 8 Plate Final
Oxford Touch 10 – 1 Nottingham Hoods

CTS Plate Final
Portsmouth Destroyers 4 – 0 Percy Park Pirates

Super 8 Cup Final
Bristol Fijians 2 – 6 London Scorpions

Elite 8 Plate Final
Phoenix Touch 2 – 7 Tumeke Sports

Elite 8 Cup Final
Bareback Riders 5 – 0 London Galaxy

On paper this was due to be the best game of the day. The top two teams of the top half. Although facing a London team that were fancied to win the competition, the Scottish team showed no mercy in dispatching the London Galaxy to take the Elite 8 Cup Final.